Ever since its first release back in 2007 the Uncharted game series has been something rather special. Originally dismissed as a Tomb Raider clone, the Uncharted has carved its own path with its adept combination of platforming, gunplay, and top notch production. The games have turned Naughty Dog into development superheroes and have provided a lovely jewel on Sony’s crown of exclusives. In 2011 shortly after the release of Uncharted 3 Drake’s Deception, Sony charged Naughty Dog with the task of putting the next game on the mighty PlayStation 4. Given 5 years, and powerful new system can Naughty Dog once more deliver the jaw dropping thrills of its predecessors and once again raise the bar for presentation in video gaming?

Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End
Date Released May 10th 2016
Platform PS4 Exclusive
Type Third Person Action
Genre Modern Day adventure
ESRB T (teen)

Highs: Amazing Production values, Smooth game play with smart new additions, well written narrative, high energy multiplayer

Lows: The pacing is a bit uneven, some tiny glitches, lack of puzzle variety, soundtrack not as good as previous games.

The Plot

Uncharted 4 starts off roughly three years after the ending of Drake’s Deception. Nathan Drake (Nolan North) retired from all the crazy fortune hunting and settled down with Elena (Emily Rose), now his wife. He lives a normal life, working for an underwater salvage company. There is a part of him however that still longs to be out there. Nate’s normality comes to a crashing halt when his long lost brother Sam (Troy Baker), presumed to have been killed in a Panamanian prison 15 years earlier, suddenly appears at Nate’s office. Sam is in search of a massive pirate treasure rumored to be in Libertalia, a pirate colony founded by legendary pirate captains Henry Avery and Thomas Tew. Nate is reluctant to help Sam locate the treasure until Sam reveals that he has three months to recover the treasure or face being killed by crime kingpin Alcazar. Nate pulls in his close friend and mentor Victor Sullivan, and the three of them head off to find the needed clues to lead them to the pirate colony. Competing with the trio is trust-fund brat Rafe’ (a former ally of Sam and Nate, turned enemy) and his partner Nadine Ross, owner of Shoreline a PMC along the lines of Blackwater.

The narrative here is well written. For this story the supernatural elements of the previous games have been removed for a more modern and realistic tale. Thanks to expert voice acting, the plot is fleshed out and really brought to life. By the end of the 15 hour or so romp the player will really get who Drake is and what motivates him. The series trademark character banter and humor are still intact and put to good effect here.

The Game Play

Much of the mechanics of the previous games return for this one In the single player mode, you will play as Nathan Drake, think of him as a young cross between Indiana Jones and John Mclean (Die Hard Films). He must assist his brother Sam in search of clues to a vast treasure. The game features extensive platforming, terrain traversal by foot or in some levels by vehicle, something new to the series. There is also the standard “pop” and cover third person shooting and occasional fisticuffs. Though UC4 remains a largely linear experience, Naughty Dog opened things up a bit by allowing Nate and company a freer hand in how to navigate levels. In most levels Nate can do the Solid Snake-thing and quietly sneak around the rent-a-thugs, maybe take out a couple here and there with a neck snap. Alternatively he can choose to go all “Rambo” and let the hot lead fly. I found that a combination of the two works pretty well but feel free to experiment. It’s a nice addition that creates variety and encourages replay of various levels. The shooting sections are familiar as are the usually batch of modern weapons, shotguns, uzis, AR15s, Grenade Launchers and the occasional RPG. There are few special weapons scattered throughout the levels.

AI is pretty good all around. Allies will follow Drake’s lead in getting through levels, if Drake does quiet they will go along nicely, but will pull out the “gatts” just as quickly when Nate needs to rumble. Enemy AI is pretty good as well, keeping you on your toes at all times. A really cool touch is that when Nate and the friendly AI are close to an enemy they the AI friend will help you beat him up.

New to Drakes standard equipment load out (flashlight, journal, and firearms) is a grappling hook. This handy tool helps out with terrain traversal, reaching objects otherwise out of arm’s length and can be used to get the drop on enemy AI from above. It is a fun thing to play around with and thanks to the perfect camera-work looks very cool in motion.

Also new to the franchise is the use of vehicles. Previously the vehicle sections of Uncharted had been “on-rails” affairs with no real control on the part of the player. In several areas of the game the player will be able to have Nate freely drive in jeeps and in boats (for at least one level) The driving portions for the most part work pretty well and Naughty Dog kept the controls simple.

Puzzles return as well, but sadly are largely forgettable affairs with most of the solutions accessible from Nate’s journal. I think ND missed a real opportunity here. I do understand that they do not want to slow the pacing in a game like this down too much, but a little more creativity would have been a nice thing to have.

In the addition to the single player campaign there is a robust multiplayer co-op-gameplay. and again utilizes the verticality of the level designs to make for interesting strategy. Normally I would not buy a game like this for the multiplayer, but it is great having it there for the value. The MP runs at a solid 60 FPS (the gold standard for shooters) with a slight loss of resolution compared to the single player campaign. The gameplay is fast and frantic but smooth. Expect additional maps and character skins in future DL content.

Sights and Sounds:

Naughty Dog has long established a reputation for impressive production values in its games. The Uncharted series and Last of Us are among the very best looking games of the past generation. Naughty Dog has had five years and a more powerful machine on which to unleash Uncharted 4 and the results are nothing short of spectacular. This is easily one of the most visually arresting games ever produced for a console. From gorgeous scenic vistas that stretch out as far as the eye can see, to uncanny character models that quickly convince a casual viewer they are watching live actors, to insanely small details like the swaying blades of tall grass, deteriorating surface textures, realistic looking fabric and hyper-clear anti-aliasing the visuals in this game are simply a marvel. Particle effects like smoke, dust (showing up as light streams through it in game play-O to the M to the G) and fluid effects like water rippling in different intensities and direction depending on movement are incredible. The underwater areas are equally amazing. The physics programing, where objects fly apart in different ways depending on impact and nature of the destruction is all but unbelievable. The guys and gals at Naughty Dog have this stuff down a black art and have no qualms about letting the rest of the world know just how good they are.

Just to give you an idea

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Equally impressive is the flawless balance of sound, ambient noise mixes with voices, gunfire music score. Everything is appropriately balanced and the game allows the player to fine tune the sound balance depending on speaker set up (very nice). The voice cast led once more by the venerable Nolan North is also outstanding; Emily Rose and Richard McGonagle are old hands with their characters Sully and Elena and play them perfectly. Joining the established actors is Troy Baker in the role of Sam Drake. Baker is a rising game voice superstar who has been excellent in everything so he has done so far. The character banter especially between them always feels natural, also new to the cast are Warren Cole and Laura Bailey who play the primary antagonists Rafe’ Adler and Nadine Ross. They are bit toned down from the almost cartoon supervillains of previous games but are substantial and appropriate for the roles they are playing. Rounding out things is the excellent Robin Atkin Downes, playing drug kingpin Hector Alcazar. Overall stellar performances all around and perhaps the strongest voice cast in all of gaming.

The only real disappointment here is the actual soundtrack; it’s in no way really bad. The pacing and tempo are appropriate but this time it feels a bit generic. A lot of the songs are remixed from previous games. Again it’s not bad, just does not feel as creative this time as the rest of the effort here.

Kid’s Corner:

The game is rated T for Teen. One has to think of this series as the equivalent of a high octane PG 13 action film. There is a lot of frantic action, fisticuffs, and gun play, though none of it graphic in nature and little to no blood shed is depicted. There is some light weight cursing on the part of characters, but appropriate to the situation they find themselves in as opposed to being gratuitous. There are no issues here with sex or nudity whatsoever. So for teens, and even some preteens it’s perfectly suitable.

In Summary

Once again Naughty Dog comes through with gaming’s penultimate action thrill ride. Uncharted 4 is a technical blockbuster with nearly unequaled visuals (outside of the world of PC gaming), impressive sound, super smooth game play and a nice multiplayer game to boot. PS4 now has its killer app and the industry has a new benchmark to live up to going forwards. If you are a fan of this series, it’s a nice ending to Drake’s story with great narrative themes. If you just love a good action/adventure series you need to give this one a serious whirl.

Cool tidbit: there is a scene in one of the beginning chapters in which Nathan Drake plays Crash Bandicoot on a PS1- while playing (which you actually get to do as a player) he endlessly rips on the game, ironic since it was Naughty Dog’s first major console outing. If you cannot make fun of yourself though, who can you make fun of anyway?

Here are a couple of trailers